Anywhere but Here

“God, you’re a mess,” Jack grumbled, carefully folding clothes and packing them away.

Alex smiled to himself, thinking about how true that statement really was. There was no denying that he was a mess as far as organization went, that was for sure. His books were balanced haphazardly in one corner, teetering whenever he walked too close. His clothes were strewn everywhere. They’d discovered a Wendy’s bag that still had a few fries in it. Alex hadn’t eaten at Wendy’s in at least two months.

But his life was kind of a mess too. At least, it had been up until now. Exams were over and it was time to pack up for the summer. It was the end of his second year of college and he was just now arriving at the point where he could honestly say he was happy with where his life was headed. He wasn’t just open about who he was; he was fucking proud of who he was. He wanted to show Jack off to every person they met. He was no longer stuck in a loveless relationship with a borderline crazy bitch and trying not to pine over his ex.

He was—dare he say it?—growing up.

And he liked how growing up felt. It meant accepting that he had faults and that his screw-ups were the reason his life had been such a mess up until last semester. But it also meant that he’d finally manned up and came out. He finally had Jack back, and he couldn’t be happier.

“You’re a mess,” Jack repeated, apparently expecting a remark. Probably a sarcastic one.

“Yeah,” Alex agreed. “I’m a mess, but as long as I’ve got you to help me pick up the pieces, I think I’ll be okay.”

“Nyaww! When did you turn into such a sap?” he asked, turning to give Alex a quick kiss.

“Maybe I’ve always had the potential to be a sap. You just bring out that side of you.”

“Well don’t do it all the time. It’s weird,” Jack teased. “And honest to god, Lex, how the hell did you wreck the room this bad?” There was a dent in the wall near the door and the paint was peeling—something he’d definitely have to pay for.

Alex sighed. “That’s from the doorknob,” he explained. When Jack shot him a quizzical look, he elaborated. “Lisa was big into slamming doors open when she got pissed at me. Making a grand entrance or some shit, I dunno.”

Jack didn’t say anything, just smirked. “I love you,” he said.

“Mm, I love you too.” Alex grinned. He loved when Jack told him he loved him out of the blue like that.

Suddenly remembering something, Jack groaned.

“What is it?” Alex asked.

“I have to go back for the last box of stuff.” He looked horror-stricken, like that was the worst possible thing he could do. And truth be told, it was up high on the list of most painfully uncomfortable experiences ever.

After Alex and Jack got back together and they knew there was no chance of Jack and Zack even staying friends at all, the four had come to the agreement to swap roommates under the radar. Since Jack was the neater of the two, he’d moved in with Alex and Rian had taken Jack’s place. He’d gradually gotten most of his stuff back, but there was still one left that he’d been putting off retrieving. Oh, how he dreaded that.

“But just think,” Alex said. “We’ll have an apartment in the fall and won’t have to worry about our roommates screwing each other. I mean, my roommate better not be screwing someone else!”

“I won’t,” Jack promised, rolling his eyes and giving up entirely on packing for the time being. “It took us like thirty minutes to pack all of my stuff,” he pointed out.

“Yeah, but it’s been a tough year for me. I wasn’t as put together as you.”

Jack didn’t feel the need to mention that it hadn’t exactly been an easy year for him either. “Hey, by the time we come back, everything will be forgotten. It’s college; the drama dies down. It isn’t high school, where it’ll stick with us forever. When August comes, we’ll have a clean slate and won’t be the guy who cheated on his boyfriend who was cheating with the roommate of the guy he cheated with who cheated on his girlfriend who informed guy number one’s now-ex boyfriend of said cheating.”

“Stop, you’re giving me a headache,” Alex complained.

“But you know what? Even if, for some reason, people still feel the need to bring up the shit we’ve done, I don’t care. I’ll be by your side until the end.”